The End of the Day
by Oliviet
Summary: "The sheets are bunched up around her hips and her eyes sweep over the room taking stock of their various articles of clothing strewn about the floor. She spots her wedding dress crumpled in a pile by the door, and stands to go hang it up." A short little piece about Castle and Beckett's wedding night conversation as requested by a friendly anon on Tumblr.


He's laying in bed on his stomach and she's sitting up next to him, pulling the remaining bobby pins out of her updo. The sheets are bunched up around her hips and her eyes sweep over the room taking stock of their various articles of clothing strewn about the floor. She spots her wedding dress crumpled in a pile by the door, and stands to go hang it up.

Castle rolls onto his back and watches her. "Looking good, Mrs. Castle."

She throws him a look over her shoulder as she slips her dress onto a hanger. He laughs and waits for her to come back to bed with him. When she does, she lays herself on top of him, propping herself up with her elbows.

"If I had told you that this was going to happen when we first met, would you have believed me?" he asks, brushing a stray curl off of her cheek.

"Not a chance. I would have laughed in your face."

He scoffs, mocking offense. "Hey now, the possibility of this wasn't _that _slim. You were like my number one fan after all."

"Oh no trust me, they were slim. And it was your books I enjoyed the presence of, not you."

"Was I really that awful to you?"

"You were annoying. Didn't stay in the car when I told you to, wanted to know all of my secrets, used a naked silhouette to represent me on the cover of your books…"

He palms her ass at the mention of 'naked silhouette' and she shifts her weight to smack his shoulder in response.

"I would just like to remind you that I helped you catch many a suspect by not staying in the car when told. _And_ I single-handedly stopped the city from getting blown up by a bomb."

Kate rolls her eyes. "I never said that you were a bad partner, just that you were annoying."

"So what changed? How did I go from being an annoyance to your husband?"

She smirks at him. "Oh you're still an annoyance."

"Good to know. I'll remember that the next time you want something from me, like sex."

Her smirk morphs into a pout and he can't help but laugh at her. He trails a hand up her spine and feels her shiver under his touch.

"No, but I'm serious, Kate. How'd we end up here?"

"Didn't we have this discussion once? You know, when I was standing on a bomb?"

"No, that was about who fell for whom first, not about the how."

She sighs, dropping her elbows, and snuggling into his chest. His arms wrap around her and pull her closer.

"I don't know if I can pinpoint the exact moment where I stopped disliking you as much as I did. You just sort of grew on me."

"Well there has to be something that stands out in your mind. One little moment where you thought that there could be something there."

Kate hums, adjusting her head against his chest. "Did I ever tell you that I was going to say yes to going to the Hamptons with you when Gina walked in?"

"Gina? What…wait you mean back in, oh what year was that the summer of? 2010?"

She nods against him, her hair brushing his chin.

"I didn't think you wanted to go, which is why I asked her. You were willing to spend the whole summer with me?"

"Well maybe not the _whole_ summer. They don't give me that much vacation time."

His grip around her tightens. "I guess that explains your hostility when I got back."

She laughs at that.

"Kate, if I had known –"

"It's my own fault that you didn't," she interrupts him. "But I think that moment just really stands out in my mind as when I realized that there were feelings there for you. You walked away with her and I actually started crying. It hurt a lot more than I expected it to."

Castle places a kiss on the top of her head. "I wonder what would have happened if you had come with me that summer."

"We'd probably already be married."

"We _are_ already married."

She rolls her eyes. "I meant before today."

"You think so?"

"You're the same man, Castle. I would have fallen in love with you, either way."

He bends his head to kiss her and her right hand comes up and rakes through his hair.

"I love you too, Katherine Beckett-Castle."

"Oh, so I'm a hyphenate now? Earlier I was just Mrs. Castle."

"Just showing you your options."

She laughs and kisses him again. "Well _Rick_, when I figure out what I want to do with my last name, I will let you know. Until then…" Kate trails off as she moves to straddle his hips. "I'm ready for round two."

His hands skim their way up to her hips and he smiles at her with a devilish grin. "I knew there was a reason I liked you."


End file.
